A Georgia O’Keeffe painting valued at more than $3 million has resurfaced after spending almost four decades hidden in the closet of a New York City apartment.
The remarkable find was made in 2022 by Betsy, 65, who discovered the abstract work while clearing out her late aunt’s East Village home.
Betsy told the New York Post that the 1930 painting, titled ‘Near Abiquiu, New Mexico,’ had remained out of sight since the 1980s.
She was organizing her 98-year-old aunt’s affairs when she remembered a casual remark about a box tucked beneath a collection of fur coats.
‘That’s when she mentioned, “Oh, by the way, there’s a Georgia O’Keeffe in the hall closet,”‘ Betsy recalled to the outlet.
‘I wondered, “Is there any way I can keep this?” But once we started exploring what the value of the piece was, I realized that it’s worth more than my house,’ Betsy told the outlet. Christie’s has estimated the painting’s value at between $3 million and $5 million.
Measuring 10 by 24 inches, the painting bears O’Keeffe’s distinctive star-shaped mark on its reverse, along with the signature of her husband, celebrated American photographer Alfred Stieglitz.
According to Christie’s New York, ‘Near Abiquiu, New Mexico’ depicts Lobo Peak, north of Taos Pueblo. The scene features the ‘expansive skies’ and ‘rolling hills’ that repeatedly inspired O’Keeffe throughout her career.
Betsy, 65, discovered the Georgia O’Keeffe painting in 2022 after finding it tucked inside her late aunt’s East Village apartment closet
Christie’s New York says O’Keeffe developed a modern abstract style shaped by the landscapes and atmosphere of New Mexico
The painting features Lobo Peak, located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (pictured) north of Taos Pueblo, with the expansive skies and rolling hills that became recurring subjects in O’Keeffe’s work
Christie’s records show that Betsy’s aunt received the artwork as a graduation present from her mother, who purchased it for $3,800 at New York City’s Downtown Gallery on April 15, 1963.
Tylee Abbott, head of American Art at Christie’s, told CBS that specialists examined the painting and compared it with historical records to authenticate it.
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‘We actually have documented the original bill of sale from O’Keeffe’s Downtown Gallery in 1963, when the current owner purchased it. So, all of that tied together is a surefire confirmation that this is indeed a genuine Georgia O’Keeffe,’ Abbott told the outlet.
Betsy said the painting had been displayed in her aunt’s apartment until the 1980s, when a visitor began taking an uncomfortable level of interest in it.
The encounter left her aunt feeling ‘creepy,’ Betsy said, and she never put the artwork back on the wall.
‘I think she was fully aware of its value… she recognized that it was an expression of her financial position… she disliked drawing attention to herself,’ Betsy told the outlet.
Her aunt had no children and built a successful, ‘cosmopolitan’ career in the Foreign Service, according to Betsy.
The 10-by-24-inch painting was found in its original box, with O’Keeffe’s star-shaped mark and Alfred Stieglitz’s signature visible on the back
Christie’s says Betsy’s aunt received the O’Keeffe as a graduation gift after her mother bought it for $3,800 at New York City’s Downtown Gallery on April 15, 1963
Tylee Abbott said the painting was ‘last known from a photograph in 1931 that Alfred Stieglitz took of her of a gallery exhibition’
Betsy described her aunt as ‘extremely private,’ ‘incredibly accomplished’ and ‘ultra intelligent.’ She traveled extensively and spoke four languages.
The newly rediscovered artwork will be available for free public viewing at Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center from November 7 through November 17.
Abbott said the painting was ‘last known from a photograph in 1931 that Alfred Stieglitz took of her gallery exhibition’ and has not been publicly seen since then.
‘O’Keeffe goes to New Mexico in 1929, and this picture is from 1930, so it’s the ground floor of her inspiration at that time of first experience in New Mexico, and the landscape and the atmosphere. And she is very vocal about, in her writings and things, about how impactful it was on her. I think you get that in this picture,’ Abbott told the outlet.
Following the exhibition, the painting will go under the hammer at Christie’s New York during the auction house’s 20th Century evening sale on November 17.
